Material handling apparatus



H. E. SWANSQN MATERIAL HANDLING APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Eflarch 17, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 H. E- SWANSON MATERIAL HANDLING APPARATUS INVENTCR H/LBERT E. WANON ATTORNEY AriE 4, 11950 Filed March 17, 1945 llll.

Aprii 4, 1950 H. E. SWANSON MATERIAL HANDLING APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 17, 1945 M N N fl Mm R E5 m a W T MW. T A MW m B M F H Patented Apr. 4, 1950 MATERIAL HANDLING APPARATUS Hilbert E. Swanson, Milwaukee, Wis., assignor to Unit Crane & Shovel Corp., West Allis, Wia, a

corporation of Delaware Application March 17, 1945, Serial No. 583,184 5 Claims. (Cl. 37;144)

The present invention relates to material handling apparatus, and has for an object to provide an improved apparatus in which a bulldozer or f scraper is associated with a mobile, boom-type hoisting machine, such as a power shovel machine, in such manner as to permit their coordinated use.

Another object is to provide an apparatus of this character in which the bulldozer can be raised and lowered by the boom of the hoisting machine, and particularly by an excavating device movably carried by the boom.

A further object is to provide a material handling apparatus in which the boom-carrying turntable or swing body of the hoisting machine can be swung about without interfering with the bulldozer.

A still further object is to provide an improved bulldozer attachment which can readily be applied to existing mobile hoisting machines.

The invention further consists in the several features hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating one specific embodiment of the invention,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a material handling apparatus constructed in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a top view of a bulldozer of the apparatus and its mounting on a hoisting machine undercarriage or chassis;

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation taken generally along the line 3--3 of Fig. 2, a raised position of the bulldozer being shown in broken lines;

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional elevation taken generally along the line 4--4 of Fig. 3, and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional elevation similar to the left-hand portion of Fig. 3.

In these drawings, the numeral I designates generally a mobile excavating machine of the swingable boom type and H designates generally a bulldozer device for the machine. The excavating machine is provided with an undercarriage or chassis having suitably driven crawlers l2 at opposite sides supporting a frame or carbody I3 which includes front and rear axles or cross beams 14. the outer ends of the axles being secured to girders l for the crawlers, all as usual. Each axle I4 is here shown to be an H-beam with a vertical web and horizontal top and bottom flanges. The frame 13 carries a superposed roller track I 6 having a ring gear l'I, Fig. 2.

A rotating frame or turntable I8 is rotatably mounted on the roller track to turn about a vertical axis through an unlimited range and 2 carries the usual machinery for operating the machine. This machinery is here shown to include a boom-hoisting drum I3, 9. dipper-hoisting drum 20, and a dipper-crowding sprocket wheel 2|. The turntable also carries the usual A-frame 22 and a cab 23 for housing the machinery.

A boom 24 is detachably pivoted at 25 at the front of the turntable to swing in a vertical plane and is adjustably elevated by a hoisting cable 26 which is wound on the drum l9 and passes over sheaves 21 on the boom point and sheaves 28 on the A-frame, as usual. A reciprocatory dipper stick 29 slides in a guide member 30 pivoted on a shipper shaft 3| at the intermediate portion of the boom and carries an excavating dipper or bucket 32 at its lower end, the dipper having the customary hinged dump door 33.

Pivotal movement of the dipper stick 29 and the associated guide member 30 is effected by the usual dipper hoisting cable 34' which passes over a sheave 35 on the dipper and sheaves 36 on the boom point and is wound onto the winding drum 20.

Longitudinal reciprocation of the dipper stick is effected in any suitable manner as by a crowd belt or chain 31 which is fastened at its ends to the opposite ends of the dipper stick and which passes over the reversibly driven sprocket wheel 2|, guide sprockets 38 ,at the foot of the boom. and guide sprockets 39 coaxial with the shipper shaft. This general arrangement for the crowd belt 31 is disclosed in my United States Patent 2,304,486, for Crowd for boom structures, issued December 8, 1942.

The bulldozer attachment II comprises a bulldozer blade 40 of usual shape which extends transversely in front of the machine undercarriage and is pivotally secured to the undercarriage frame. A metal loop 4| is welded or otherwise rigidly secured to the upper middle portion of the blade and projects upwardly and forwardly therefrom to be detachably engaged by a rearwardly projecting lifting hook 42 secured to the rear portion or dump door of the dipper 32. Near its opposite ends the bulldozer blade carries shoes 43 which are slidable along the ground. v 4

Two vertically extending angle brackets 44 are disposed at the front axle l4 near the crawlers, and each has a forwardly projecting flange 45 and a laterally projecting flange 46, the latter bearing against the front edges of the axle flanges.

-Each bracket is clamped to the axles by bolts 41 which pass through the bracket flange 46 and through a flange of a vertically extending angle 3 bar 48 bearing against the rear edges of the axles, the other flange of the angle bar bearing laterally against the side wall of the carbody ii. A shoulder block 49 is welded or otherwise secured to the rear face of the flange 48 of each bracket, and a similar shoulder block ill is welded or otherwise secured to the front face of the angle bar 48. The shoulder blocks 48 and ill rest on the top flange of the axle to position each bracket and the associated angle bar. The uppermost bolt 41 passes through a tubular spacer i, and the intermediate bolt is disposed immediately above the shoulder blocks. The lowermost bolt 41 is close to the bottom flange of the axle. The flange 46 of each bracket also carries a longitudinally adjustable stop bolt 52, which bears against the front face of the carbody.

Between the lower portions of the flanges I! of the spaced brackets is mounted a horizontally extending tubular cross bar 53 having stub shafts i4 welded or otherwise rigidly secured in its opposite ends, the stub shafts being joumalled in aligned openings 55 in the bracket flanges l5 and being provided with retaining collars 56. A tubular strut 51, which projects forwardly of the tubular cross bar 53 at right angles thereto, is welded to the middle portion of the cross bar, and triangular gusset plates 58 are welded to the front portions of the cross bar and to the opposite side portions of the strut, thus forming a T'-shaped frame. An eye bolt 59 is pivotally secured by avertical pin 60 to ears or lugs ti on the middle portion of the rear face of the bulldozer blade and passes into a bushing 62 in the front end portion of the strut 51. A nut 63 on the eye bolt bears against the front end of the strut.

Two forwardly diverging struts 64 are arranged at opposite sides of the central strut 51 and pivotally connect the usset plates 58 with the outer end portions of the bulldozer blade. Each of the struts 64 comprises a cylindrical front member 65 and a tubular rear member 66, the front member telescopically fitting in the rear member. The rear members have respective forked rear ends 61 which are pivotally secured to reinforced portions of the respective gusset plates 58 by vertical pins 68. The pivot pins 68 are spaced as far apart as possible without causing interference between the struts 64 and the crawlers l2. The front members 65 of the side struts 64 are pivotally secured by vertical pins 69 to eared brackets on the end portions of the bulldozer blade, the brackets being vertically adjustable and secured to the blade by bolts H the heads of which are disposed in vertical T-slots 12 in the blade. The telescopic struts 64 permit the bulldozer blade to be adjusted to various angular portions, as indicated by broken lines in Fig. 2. The members 65 and 66 of each side strut are respectively provided with a series of vertical openings 13 and 14 and arelocked in ad- Justed position by a vertical pin 15 which passes through selected ones of these openings.

The bulldozer blade is detachably retained in an elevated position, indicated by broken lines in Fig. 3, by a chain 16 the ends of which are attached to clevises Tl secured by bolts 18 t0 the upper end portions of the flanges 46 of the mounting brackets 44. cured to intermediate portions of the middle strut 51 and carries thereabove a bent bar 80 having a forwardly projecting front hook 8i confining a rounded block 82 forming a chain seat. The rear end of the bar 80 has an upwardly project- A saddle plate 19 is seing tongue 8 for loosely holding the chain when the bulldozer is in its normal position. when the chain is passed over the front hook II it holds the bulldozer in its elevated position.

When the apparatus is in use, the bulldozer blade rests on the ground, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. Forward movement of the crawler undercarriage will effect an advance of the blade and produce a scraping and leveling action on the material in front of the blade, a heap of this material being indicated at 84. In a typical operation, such as in road-building, material is deposited in front of the bulldozer blade by the dipper 32 and is then leveled by the blade. The rotating frame is rotatable through a complete revolution, and the digging range usually extends through about three-quarters of a revolution. However, in some instances, digging by the dipper may be effected in front of the blade. When the rotating frame is swung about its vertical axis from the full line position of Fig. 1 through to the broken line position of Fig. 1, the overhanging counterweighted rear end of the turntable clears the bulldozer, even when the bulldozer blade is elevated. If the machine is propelled to the left, as viewed in Fig. 1, to reach a new position, it is not necessary to lift the bulldozer, as the latter will slide along the ground. For some types of maneuvering, it is desirable to elevate the bulldozer, and for this purpose, the dipper is manipulated by the operator to engage the hook #2 into the loop 41 of the bulldozer blade and is then raised to a suitable height. In cases where it is desired to hold the bulldozer in its elevated position, while permitting normal use of the dipper, the chain 16 is engaged over the hook 8i on the central strut.

The bulldozer attachment. which is of relatively simple construction, is readily applicable to existing power shovel machines, and can be quickly and easily fastened and removed.

The mobile power shovel machine it is of a type which, in accordance with usual practice, is readily convertible to various other forms of related machines, such as a dragline. backdigger, clamshell, and crane, by providing a suitable boom and other equipment. Such conversion will not interfere with the use of the bulldozer on the machine. In each case, the boom of the machine can be used to raise and lower the bulldozer. While the machine undercarriage is preferably of the crawler type, as shown, in some instances a wheeled undercarriage of any suitable type may be provided.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Material handling apparatus, comprising a. mobile hoisting machine having a propelling un dercarriage including a frame and having a laterally swingable boom thereon, a bulldozer pivotally mounted on said frame for up-and-down displacement and movable along the ground by said undercarriage, said laterally swingable boom being projectible forwardly over said bulldozer and having a pivotal mounting on said frame separate from said bulldozer, and means carried by said boom for raising said bulldozer and for transferring material with respect to a position in front of said bulldozer.

2. Material handling apparatus, comprising a mobile excavating machine having a propelling undercarriage including a frame and having a turntable with a boom thereon and further having a reciprocable excavating dipper carried by the boom, a bulldozer pivotally mounted on said frame for up-and-down displacement and movable along the ground by said undercarriage, and means carried by said dipper detachably engageable with said bulldozer for raising said bulldozer.

3. Material handling apparatus, comprising a mobile excavating machine having a propelling undercarriage including a frame and having a turntable with a boom thereon and further having a reciprocable excavating dipper carried by the boom, and a bulldozer pivotally mounted on said frame for up-and-down displacement and movable along the ground by said undercarriage, said dipper and bulldozer having interengageable parts for lifting said bulldozer by said'dipper, said parts being engaged and disengaged by movement of said dipper.

4. Material handling apparatus, comprising a mobile excavating machine having a propelling undercarriage including a frame and having a turntable with a boom thereon and further having a reciprocable excavating dipper carried by the boom, and a bulldozer pivotally mounted on said frame for up-and-down displacement and movable along the ground by said undercarriage,

said dipper having a rearwardly projecting part detachably engageable with said bulldozer for lifting said bulldozer by said dipper, said part being engaged with said bulldozer by rearward movement of said dipper.

5. Material handling apparatus, comprising a bulldozer blade, a T-shaped strut frame having a transversely extending rear portion and a central forwardly projecting portion pivotally connected at its front end to the middle portion of said blade, said rear portion including a tubular cross bar, side struts pivotally connected at oppo' site ends to saidtransversely extending rear portion of said strut frame and to the opposite end portions of said blade, bracket means for pivotaliy supporting the transversely extending rear portion of said strut frame at the opposite ends of said rear portion, the rear pivotal connections of said side struts being adjacent to the pivoted ends of the rear portion of said strut frame, and means for securing said bracket means to the frame of a propelling carriage.

HILBERT E. SWANSO-N.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

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